500 Wal-Mart Employees File Sex-Discrimination Claims After Supreme Court Nixes Class Action
Seeking to preserve their right to pursue individual and regional class-actions against Wal-Mart over allegations of discrimination, more than 500 current and former female employees have filed claims against the retailer with the U.S. Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission.
The filings follow the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision last year that blocked a national class action against Wal-Mart.
“The fight continues to seek justice for the women employees of Wal-Mart,” Joseph Sellers, one of the attorneys representing the women, said in a statement reported by the Los Angeles Times. “The Supreme Court did not give Wal-Mart a free pass to discriminate.”
The women filing claims are from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina. Those women needed to file claims by Jan. 27 to preserve their right to sue. Employees in the other 45 states have until May 25 to file with the EEOC.
Sellers tells the Times that he expects thousands more women will file claims by May 25.
Wal-Mart responded by saying that anyone with a legitimate claim has a right to her day in court.
